This invention relates to conveyor systems of the type used in drive-up facilities such as restaurants, banks, pharmacies and similar drive-in service arrangements, wherein a carrier is utilized to convey items from a processing station to a remote delivery or transaction station. The present invention also provides an active stabilization system for the carrier which enables maintenance of the carrier in a preferred orientation throughout delivery procedures.
Various types of conveyor systems have been utilized in drive-up service facilities such as remote drive-up stations for restaurants and the like, such as shown and described U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,957,188 and 5,113,970 (which issued to Edward F. Bavis), both of the aforesaid patents being hereby incorporated herein by reference. In its simplest form, such a conveyor system provides a processing station adjacent to the service facility such as a restaurant order station or kitchen, a pharmacy desk, or a bank teller station, at which a customer""s order is filled and then transported to one or more delivery or transaction stations remote from the processing station. The items, such as food products, drinks, banking documentation, prescriptions or the like, are conveyed from the processing station to the remote delivery or transaction station by means of a conveyor system having a basket-like carrier which generally transports the items through a housing or portion of the building which can extend around and over other objects or spaces by means of vertical and horizontal conveyor sections. For example, a drive-through restaurant delivery process might entail delivering food products, drinks, change, utensils and the like from a processing station adjacent to the restaurant kitchen, vertically upwardly and then horizontally through a canopy overlying one or more drive-in lanes, and then vertically downwardly to a delivery station arranged for presentation to or access by the customer.
During its travel between the processing station and the delivery station, the basket-like carrier must be maintained in a generally upright position to ensure that the items in the basket will not be spilled or overturned. As set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,188, the carrier basket might be suspended between an opposing pair of spaced apart drive members which might include conveyor chains, drive belts or flexible drive tapes. The carrier basket in that patent was pivotally mounted relative to the drive members so as to retain its generally upright position regardless of whether the direction of movement was horizontal or vertical. The ""181 patent further controlled rocking movement that could otherwise adversely affect the performance of such a conveyor system and/or cause tipping or spillage of contents from the basket during delivery cycles by the provision of supplementary guide members positioned so as to be contacted by a guide roller to provide control to the carrier basket during translation. Such guide members would be designed and adjusted to accommodate peculiarities of the system such as related to speed, guide track conformation and design, nature of the items being transported and the like.
With increasing demands for shortened transaction times, reduced transport cycle times, and with expanded applications of conveyor systems utilizing carrier members for delivery of various products to remote delivery stations, there has been a growing need for conveyor systems which can accommodate a wide variety of speeds while maintaining the carrier in a predetermined orientation and/or minimizing the rocking movement and other extraneous movements of or forces on the carrier which could cause undesirable tipping, rocking or other disturbance of the contents and items to be delivered. It has also been a desire of the industry to have access to conveyor systems which can accommodate higher speeds of carrier translation without a need for modification of the system or adjustment or xe2x80x9ctuningxe2x80x9d of deflectors or other passive stabilization structures, and which maintain relatively uniform and reliable performance over the service life of the conveyor system. It has also been desirable to provide a conveyor system utilizing flexible drive members or tapes, wherein improved tolerance for variations of the tape structures themselves, as well as variations among different drive tapes, in order to simplify the manufacture, assembly, operation and maintenance of such conveyor systems in a reliable and consistent manner.
In accordance with the invention, a conveyor system for delivering items from a possessing station to a remote delivery station is provided, wherein a pair of spaced apart drive guides are positioned to define a path of travel for each of a pair of flexible drive members between a processing station and remote delivery station. A carrier member having an item receiving portion is attached to each of the respective flexible drive members adjacent one of its upper or lower ends for reciprocation between the stations along the guides. A third flexible stabilization drive member and a corresponding stabilization guide is positioned to define a third path of travel for the stabilization drive member, which is attached to the carrier member adjacent the other of the upper or lower ends.
In one embodiment of the invention, the conveyor system is also provided with an adjustable mount for connecting the stabilization drive member to the carrier member. In another embodiment, that adjustable mount is adapted to allow for limited movement in use of the connection between the third drive member and the carrier member. As will be described below, the carrier is connected to the stabilization drive member at a predetermined spacing or distance from the connection between at least one of the drive members and the carrier. In one embodiment, the adjustable mount is adapted to automatically allow variation as needed of the spacing between the connections of the carrier to the stabilization drive member and at least one of the other drive members in order to maintain the carrier in an optimally stable condition.
In another embodiment, the adjustable mount is adapted to allow movement in only the direction of the spacing between respective connections of the stabilization drive member and a corresponding carrier drive member in use. In yet another embodiment, at least one power drive is provided to reciprocate the two drive members and the stabilization drive member simultaneously. The power drive can be adapted to drive all drive members synchronously.
It is also contemplated that the power drive can comprise a reversible drive assembly having a drive shaft and a plurality of driving members each in driven communication with the drive shaft and one of the flexible drive members. In another embodiment, that same reversible drive assembly can include a driven member in driven communication with the drive shaft and the stabilization drive member, such that both of the flexible drive members and the stabilization drive member are powered by a single power source.
By providing a power driven third flexible stabilization drive member, the carrier member is positively and actively maintained in a stable relationship corresponding with the flexible drive members reciprocating the carrier member between the stations. Moreover, with the adjustable mount connecting the stabilization drive member to the carrier member, the conveyor system automatically accommodates variations among the drive members, guide tracks, drive members and connections the carrier member regardless of speed of travel or direction of translation of the carrier member along the conveyor system.
While the invention will be described in conjunction with examples of conveyor systems utilizing a flexible yet relatively longitudinally rigid perforated tape as drive members, it should be understood that the invention is equally applicable to conveyor systems wherein the carrier member is conveyed via other means such as a chain, gear belt, cable or the like.